Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen says that Afghanistan is “deteriorating and worsening”, getting more dangerous, as the Taliban gets craftier in their tactics. This could be seen as preparing everyone for Gen. McChrystal’s evaluation, which many think will include the request for more boots on the ground. The image of Obama as LBJ continues to haunt me right now.
“I think it is serious and it is deteriorating,” Admiral Mullen said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” program. “The Taliban insurgency has gotten better, more sophisticated, in their tactics.” He added that General McChrystal was still completing his review and had not yet requested additional troops on top of the those added by Mr. Obama.
International Lockerbie outrage reaches Scottish shores:
Scotland’s parliament was Monday being recalled for an emergency session amid growing international outrage over last week’s release of the man convicted for the Lockerbie plane bombing.
It sure didn’t help that the freed terrorist Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi got a hero’s welcome in Libya.
Israel and Sweden are in a battle over body organ story:
A diplomatic row between Sweden and Israel has intensified, with Israeli politicians urging Stockholm to condemn a newspaper article they have described as “blood libel”. In the report, published in Sweden’s leading tabloid, a freelance journalist accused the Israeli army of stealing body organs from Palestinian men after killing them.
“The statements in the Swedish press were outrageous,” Benyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, was quoted as telling his cabinet on Sunday. “We are not expecting an apology from the Swedish government … We are expecting condemnation.”
Avigdor Lieberman continues to play bad cop, amidst Netanyahu’s PR outreach, while talks continue. As the Holy Month of Ramadan began, King Abdullah of Jordan continues to insist on immediate talks to set an agreement. From Haaretz:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to tell the special U.S. Mideast envoy on Monday that Israel will not accept any limitations on its sovereignty over Jerusalem, and will allow settlers to continue to live in the West Bank. …
[...] The U.S. would like to be given guarantees by Israel that it will freeze settlement construction for at least a year, while Israel is offering a six-month hiatus. A political source in Jerusalem estimated that a compromise of 9-12 months will be reached for construction in the West Bank, but will not include East Jerusalem or most of the 2,500 housing units whose construction has already commenced. …
The health care debate churns on, says the LA Times.
Breaking News!!! Joe Lieberman is still a jackass.
ChangeofColor continues to make Glenn Beck’s TV life an advertising nightmare.
But it could mean advertising time becomes cheaper on (Glenn Beck’s) show than such a large audience would normally command. Some of his show’s advertisers last week included a male enhancement pill, a law firm looking to sue on behalf of asbestos victims, a company selling medical supplies to diabetics and a water filter company.
The Justice Department’s ethics office has recommended reversing the Bush administration and reopening nearly a dozen prisoner-abuse cases, potentially exposing Central Intelligence Agency employees and contractors to prosecution for brutal treatment of terrorism suspects, according to a person officially briefed on the matter.
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